Clinical Research Directory

Comparison of Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication and Hill-Snow Repair for Hiatus Hernia With Endoscopic Evaluation

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF) versus laparoscopic Hill-Snow repair (LHS) in the management of patients with congenital hiatus hernia, to evaluate the role of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in the preoperative diagnosis and planning \& to determine the utility of intraoperative endoscopy in guiding the surgical repair and ensuring its technical adequacy. main questions are: * which one of these techniques is safer with higher clinical efficacy represented by relief of GERD symptoms ? * does upper GI endoscopy have a role in preoperative stage regarding diagnosis of condition and planning of treatment ? * does upper GI endoscopy have a role in intraoperative stage regarding guiding the surgical repair and ensuring its adequacy ? all participants will be randomly assigned in one of two groups: * one group undergoing Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication * the other group undergoing Laparoscopic Hill-Snow repair each participsant will have preopertive, intraoperative and postoperative upper GI endoscopy to assess objectively clinical efficacy of both techniques and to define the integral role of endoscopy in all three perioperative stages

Prospective Evaluation of Cornerstone Robotics Sentire Surgical System in Major Gastrointestinal and Urologic Surgery

Robotic assisted surgery has been performed for more than two decades with good success and safety profile. However, there was only one dominating robotic surgical system available in the past which led to high cost for robotic surgery. Recently, a new robotic surgical system (Sentire Robotic Surgical System) was introduced by researchers of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). This new robotic surgical system aims to achieve similar outcomes and standards of robotic surgery performed using the dominating system but with a significantly lower cost. The technologic innovation and development of this new robotic system is made by the Cornerstone Robotics Limited, which is based in Hong Kong. In a pilot clinical study conducted at Prince of Wales Hospital involving 55 patients, the Sentire Robotic Surgical System had demonstrated high success rate with minimal complications in patients who underwent robotic colorectal, upper gastrointestinal, and urologic surgery. Researchers of CUHK would therefore like to conduct another prospective study to further evaluate the efficacy and safety of Sentire Surgical System C1000 in major gastrointestinal and urologic surgery with expanded indications. It is believed that the results of this study will provide data to support its use for wide range of procedures with minimal access trauma, for the benefit of patients. This system will also lead to a wider range of clinical application for minimally invasive surgery with a cost-effective model.